There's no place quite like Alice

By: Mary Peterson

Picture a landscape where deep chasms and gorges carve though towering ranges, where the vast desert surrounds a palm-fringed oasis, and the culture of its ancient people spans more than 40,000 years.

You may imagine a land thousands of kilometres away, but it’s in your own back yard, locals and visitors alike simply call it “the Alice.”
Alice Springs is a town of contrast. Bustling cafes line the Todd Street mall in the centre of town, station cowboys in wide-brimmed hats saunter the streets and Aboriginal paintings splashed with ochre and vibrant colours adorn gallery walls.
Combined, this forms and melds the vibrant character and outback charm of this unique Central Australian town.

In and around Alice are some of nature's most fascinating treasures that bring travellers back season after season, whether it be the colourful landscapes and mountain ranges or desert plains and interesting wildlife.

The southern summer is a great time to visit the NT’s Red Centre, when the nights are balmy and days sunny. With recent rains, local vegetation and wildflowers have exploded with growth and colour; swathes of brilliant red desert roses, wispy purple Mulla Mulla and vibrant golden Mulga flowers are in bloom
Just outside the centre of Alice Springs, at the Olive Pink Botanic Garden, you can learn about more than 300 of the Red Centre’s natural plant species. Miss Olive Muriel Pink, the garden’s namesake, was granted the 16 hectare reserve in 1956. Her vision was to create a garden with specimens of the unique desert flora of the region and so the country’s only arid zone botanic garden was born.

The award-winning Alice Springs Desert Park is nestled in the foothills of the MacDonnell Ranges, with gardens full of ghost gums and native wildflowers like the Northern Territory’s famous floral emblem – the Sturt Desert Rose. The professional guides at the Desert Park share stories with visitors of its landscape and seasonal transformations.

The West MacDonnell Ranges is an ancient rocky ridge that spreads west from Alice Springs. The famous Larapinta Trail runs for 223 kilometres along the range, beginning at the historic Alice Springs Telegraph Station and ending at Mt Sonder, the Northern Territory’s second highest mountain peak. This expedition covers a variety of terrains and is divided into 12 sections, ranging from easy day trips to challenging overnight walks.

The sheer rock face of Simpsons Gap is the first extreme landscape most trekkers will see along the Larapinta Trail. The deep red rock melds with the creamy sand of the creek bed and river red gums dot the crevices. White Cyprus pines, fig trees and ghost gums with their snow-white trunks and vibrant green leaves are all found along the Gap, which splits the MacDonnell Ranges in a striking colour contrast of desert tones.

The next stop along the Trail is the cathedral-like walls of red rock that is Standley Chasm. This sheer rock face shields a whole new eco-system of plant life from the desert sun. On the one kilometre walk into the Chasm, huge ghost gums stand alongside cycad palms and delicate ferns in a lush gully floor. Trekkers can easily find a cool, shady hideaway deep in the entry passageway to enjoy this oasis.

Picturesque swimming holes are found all along the Larapinta Trail, offering refreshing relief on a scorching day. After the summer rains, a scattering of temporary swimming holes are revealed in addition to the permanent swimming holes at Ellery Creek Big Hole, Ormiston Gorge, Glen Helen Gorge and Redbank Gorge. These can be accessed from Namatjira Drive as well as along the Larapinta Trail.
Located at the western end of the Trail, Ormiston Gorge is a popular stop among trekkers and is home to some interesting fauna and flora, including a number of relic plant species from its tropical past. There is also a local colony of black footed rock wallabies that can often be seen bounding over the boulders and crevasses.

The next swimming hole along the Trail is Glen Helen Gorge, which is important in Aboriginal mythology as it was from here that some of the creatures of the Dreamtime emerged. Trekkers can take a refreshing dip in the cool water and experience the unique habitat of waterbirds living in the middle of the desert.

To the south of the West MacDonnell Ranges, a journey through Palm Valley in Finke National Park is like taking a walk back in time through an ancient botanical garden. Travellers enter Palm Valley through Cycad Gorge where the resilient plants and native ferns have clung to the rock walls for centuries and the rocks in the valley floor have eroded to form crystal clear rock pools when filled with fresh rain water. Combined with the sparkling white river sand they become nature’s own ‘water features’ and a memorable part of this lush oasis.

Another eye-catching icon at Palm Valley is the red cabbage palms, a unique occurrence in the botanical world. The remainder of Finke National Park contains the MacDonnell Ranges cycads, various species of daises, grevilleas and the beautiful blood-red Sturt desert rose.

Visitors to the Red can experience lush waterholes, unexpected edens and sun-drenched desert landscapes. Whether it’s learning about the vegetation at Olive Pink Botanic Garden, the Alice Springs Desert Park, or trekking across the West MacDonnell Ranges, there is a whole world of exploration for every traveller.

Getting There:
Alice Springs sits on the fully sealed Explorer’s Way, 1500 kilometres south of Darwin. The journey from Darwin takes about three days, with overnight stops along the way. The Ghan train travels to Alice Springs from Adelaide in South Australia, then on to Darwin. Qantas flies directly to Alice from most capital cities as well as Cairns.

Alice Springs summer must-dos:

• Learn about the region’s native vegetation at the Olive Pink Botanic Gardens and Alice Springs Desert Park
• Experience the Larapinta Trail and enjoy the scenic waterholes and gorges of the West MacDonnell Ranges
• Float in the large permanent swimming hole of Ellery Creek Big Hole
• Journey down the towering red walls into the swimming hole at Ormiston Gorge
• Enjoy the ancient landscape and crystal clear rock pools at Palm Valley